Apparatus for suspending and feeding wire-tying machines



March 10; 1959 e. E. LAMB ETAL 2,876,959 APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDI-NG AND FEEDING WIRE-MING MACHINES s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22,1954

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APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDINGAND FEEDING WIRE-TYING MACHINES File'd Oct;- 22,1s54

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' INVENTORS GEORGE 5. 4/9/15 MMALD L R066 E 51 d E5 am grime/m7 United States Patent APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING AND FEEDING WIRE-TYING MACHINES George E. Lamb, Hoquiam, and Harald I. Rogge, Seattle, Wash., assiguors to Ovalstrapping Inc., Hoquiam, Wash, a corporation of Washington Application October 22, 1954, Serial No. 464,086

4 Claims. (Cl. 242-54) The present invention relates to the counter-balanced suspension and wire feeding of one or more wire-tying machines of the hand-operated type.

While a large number of excellent automatic wiretying machines have been developed, there remains a number of tying applications where it is either necessary or desirable to use a tying machine of the hand-operated type. Where hand-operated machines are only employed intermittently, operator fatigue is not encountered; but Where an operator spends his working day at a tying station using a hand-operated machine the question of reducing operator fatigue is of cardinal importance. The two most fatiguing operations are: (l) the shifting of the machine froman out-of-the-way position to an operative position on top of the bundle being tied, and back again to the out-of-the-way position; and (2) the drawing off from the wire supply of the length of wire required to wrap the bundle.

We have devised an apparatus which provides counterbalanced suspension of one or more wire-tying machines in combination with a novel arrangement for feeding (dispensing) the required amounts of wire from a wire supply reel to the machine or machines, and our new apparatus enables the machine operator to work with a minimum of fatigue, thereby radically increasing the number of bundles he is able to handle in a given period. While the device of the invention was particularly designed for use in conjunction with strapping wire of oval cross-section, it could equally well be used with wire of circular cross-section or flat steel strapping. Therefore, where we use the term wire in this specification and the accompanying claims we wish it to be understood that this wire may be of any one of the three types mentioned in the preceding sentence.

Our invention may be generally defined as an apparatus for the counter-balanced suspension and wire feeding of a wire-tying machine of the manually operated type comprising a frame having a horizontal portion which extends above the wire-tying machine and a vertical portion located to one side of the machine, flexible suspension means such as a cable suspending said machine from said horizontal portion, said flexible suspension means being trained over pulleys mounted on said horizontal portion, the end of said flexible suspension means opposite said machine being secured to a weight which counter-balances the machine, said weight being mounted for vertical sliding in said vertical frame portion, a wire supply reel rotatably mounted at the base-of said vertical frame portion, wire-straightening rolls and power-driven wire-feeding rolls mounted on said vertical portion at points adjacent said wire supply reel, means for driving said wire-feeding rolls, and a wire-storage means mounted on said vertical portion. The wire-storage means comprises a first pulley mounted in said vertical portion at a point above said wire-feeding rolls, said first pulley being mounted for vertical sliding in said vertical portion, said first pulley being biased to slide upwardly, and a second pulley, said second pulley also being mounted for vertical sliding in said vertical section, said second pulley being suspended by a second flexible suspension means attached to said weight whereby said second pulley rises and falls vertically in sympathy-with movements imparted to said machine, and a limit switch disposed adjacent the vertical path of travel of said first pulley so as to be tripped thereby as said pulley rises or falls therepast, said limit switch being connected to the means for driving said wire-feeding means to energize said driving means when tripped as said first pulley falls and to de-energize said driving means when tripped as said first pulley rises.

Preferably two machines are suspended beside one another for cooperative operation by two operators, one located on each side of the wiretying station; and in this preferred arrangement the apparatus approaches a duplication of the apparatus described in the preceding paragraph, since although the frame has but one horizontal portion, there is a vertical frame portion disposed on each side of the tying station, each vertical portion having associated therewith a machine-counter-balancing weight, a supply reel, wire-straightening and wire-feeding rolls, means for driving the wire feeding rolls, and a wirestorage means, all of said elements associated with a given vertical portion being exclusively associated with a particular member of the pair of wire-tying machines.

In drawings illustrating this preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view,

Figure 2 is a partly sectional elevational view which shows approximately half the apparatus in order that a more generous scale may be employed,

Figure 3 is a detailed view of the wire feeding mechanism located at the lower left-hand side of the apparatus as viewed in Figure 2, but viewed from the side opposite that shown in Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a section taken on line 44 in Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a top plan view of a portion of apparatus as viewed when looking in the direction of arrow 5 in Figure 2, and

Figure 6 is a detailed view showing how one of the pulleys of one of the wirefstorage means is mounted for vertical sliding movement in one of the vertical frame portions.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, reference numbers 10 and 11 indicate hand-operated wire-tying machines of conventional form, and 12 indicates a large bundle which has been brought by a conveyor 13 to the wire-tying station.

Reference character A indicates the frame of the machine. Frame A is located at the wire-tying station, positioned transversely of the conveyor 13, and consists of a horizontal portion 15 and vertical portions 16 and 17 which support the horizontal portion. Vertical portions 16 and 17 are sufliciently removed from the conveyor 13 to provide ample space for an operator to work at each side of the conveyor.

Since both machine 10 and machine 11 are similarly suspended and similarly fed with wire, we will content ourselves with providing a detailed description of the apparatus associated with but one of the machines, namely machine 10.

Machine 10 is supported by two cables 18 and 19. Two cables are employed in order to keep the machine from swinging or turning out of position. Cables 18 and 19 are trained over pulleys 2i and 21, respectively mounted for vertical rotation at central points on horizontal framepulley 24, mounted "at one end of horizontal frame por ti oh I'i-and is attached to a weight 25 of a magnitude which} ieounter-balances rnachinef'lm Tlie' linkage 22 "is provided simply to keep the cables 18 and 19 separate frqm one another so as to rule out binding of the cables upon one --another. As an additional means for preventing liiiidiiig ofca bles'18 and "19 a horizontally disposedidlin'g phlley 26'is provided] In addition to preventing .bindihg ot'F'the" cables, pulley 26 controls the position o f'cable 19-with respect to pulley 21 the pulley 26 being disposed so as to rule out the possibility of cable"19 riding out flb' n y ii d A. -Wei'would like to mention at this point that, instead of. 'rhploying' cables m, 19 and 23, a single-roller chain might be employed which would be attached at its op posi'te ends to the machine and weight-25 and would be trained over pulley 24 a'nda single additional pulley which would replace pulleys and 21 in the illustrated embodiment.

' rises past theswitch.

Weight 25 is vertically slidably mounted in a vertical tube 27 located at the outer edge of vertical frame por- The weight 25 is proand an outer pair of posts 31. A pulley shaft 32 (see Figure 4) carrying a freely rotatably mounted pulley 33, is secured at its outer ends to bars 34 and 35, the bars being mounted for vertical sliding in guide-ways 36 and 37 fixed upon the sides of posts which face one another. A pulley shaft 38, carrying a freely rotatably mounted puley 39, is similarly slidably mounted between the outer pair of posts 31 by means of slide bars 40 and 41 and guide-ways 42 and 43 fixed upon the posts 31.

A second cable 44 is attached to the weight 25 and is and 46 carried by horizontal frame portion 15, and finally secured to a yoke 47 which is mounted upon pulley shaft 32 and straddles pulley 33. The pulley is mounted for rotation upon the same shaft as the pulley 24 which guides the cable 23, and the pulley 46 is located above the pulley 3. Cable 44 could be replaced by a roller chain, if desired.

I It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that as weight 25 falls upon raising of the machine 10, pulley 33 will also rise, and that the pulley 33- will be free to fall whenthe machine 10 is pulled downward and weight 25 is thereby raised. In other words, pulley 33 rises and falls vertically in sympathy with movements imparted to the machine 10.

The pulley 39 is somewhat more than counterbalanced (i. e. it is biased upwardly) by means of a pair of weights 48, one weight being disposed in each of the vertical posts 31, the weights being connected to the upper ends of the slide bars 40 and 41 by cables 49a trained over small sheaves 49b rotatably mounted above the posts 31. Cables 49a and weights 48 could be replaced by a single roller chain and a single weight, if desired.

A reel 50, carrying wire 51 to be used by the machine is rotatably mounted at the base of vertical portion 17, preferably on the side thereof remote from the tying station. The wire 51 is led from the reel 50, via a series of three wire-straightening rolls 52 and a pair of wire-feeding rolls 53, over outer pulley 39, then under inner pulley 33, and across to the gripping mechanism of machine 10 (see Figure 2).

Feed rolls 53 are driven by an electric motor 54 through a suitable drive 54a (see Figure 2). One of the feed rolls 53 (see Figure 3) is mounted in a horizontally slidable bracket 55 loaded with a spring 56. The tension of the spring 56 may be increased or decreased by means mits adjustment of the nip of the wire feeding rolls 53. Forreasonvwhiclfwvill be'"described later on, thefeed rolls are intermittently driven by the motor 54. Motor 54 is, through suitable wiring (not shown) energized and de-energized by means of a limit switch 58 disposed adjacent the vertical path of travel of pulley 39. Switch 58 is mounted on a bracket 59 secured to one of the posts 31 ;and pulley shaft-3S carries an arm 60 for tripping the switch-58 as the pulley 39 rises and falls past the switch. The electrical circuit linking the switch 58 and the motor 54--provides forenergization of the motor, and hence drivingof the feed rolls 53, as the pulley 39 falls past said switch, and de-energization of the motor when the pulley Means are provided for braking the reel whenever driving of the feedrolls53 ceases. "This braking means comprises a cranked arm 61 (see Figure 3), pivoted intermediate its ends at 62. The arm carries a freely rotatable pulley 63 at its upper end and a pair of brake shoes 64 at its lower end. Pulley 63 is located between the lowermost straightening roll 52 and the supply reel 50, and wire 51 passes around pulley 63 on its way to the straightening rolls. A tension spring 65 normally biases arm 61 so that brake shoes 64 bear against the rims of the supply reel 50. However, when the feeding rolls 53 are driven by the motor, pulley 63 is pulled upwardly and to the right (as viewed in Figure 3), against the action of spring 65, and this movement turns arm 61 clockwise sufiiciently to retract the brake shoes from the reel 50. When the rolls 53 cease being driven, the tension in wire 51 slackspfi, and spring 65 once again biases the arm 60 to a position in which the brake-shoes 64 bear against the reel 50.

Having described the structure of the apparatus, we will now proceed with a description of how the apparatus works. The hand-operated wire-tying machines 10 and 11 are shown suspended in their inoperative position.

Since the apparatus is symmetrical and machines 10 and trained over two vertically rotatably mounted pulleys 45 11 are each suspended and fed with wire in the same manner, we deem it sufiicient to merely describe the operation of the apparatus associated with the machine 10. The man who operates machine 10 stands between the bundle 12 delivered by the conveyor 13, and vertical frame portion 17. When a new bundle 12 arrives for tying, he draws the counterbalanced machine down upon the bundle, thus raising weight 25 in vertical tube 27. This action, i. e. the drawing down of the machine 10, permits pulley 33 to slide vertically downward as the machine is drawn downward, since this pulley is supported by cable 44 trained over pulleys 46 and 45 and attached to the weight 25. At the same time, pulley 39, which, as mentioned previously, is slightly overweighted by the two weights 48 located in the posts 31,

' is caused by the strapping wire 51 trained thereover to travel downwardly to a point just above the limit switch 58. When the tool is at the level of the top of the bundle, the operator removes the wire 51 from the gripping mechanism of the machine and then, with a quick forward thrust, draws oif a sufiicient length of wire to go around the package which is to be tied. This drawing off of wire is not a fatiguing operation since the length of wire drawn off is taken from the excess wire storage 7 provided by training the wire 51 over the pulley 39.

The operator is not called upon to turn the heavy reel 50 carrying the strapping Wire because this wire is drawn from the reel 50 by the wire feeding r-olls 53 as soon as the motor 54 has been energized. Motor 54 is energized by tripping of the limit switch 58 by the arm 60 carried by the pulley shaft 38 of pulley 39. Since pulley 39 is located just above the limit switch 58 at the time the operator starts to draw olf the length of wire required to wrap the bundle, the limit switch will be tripped and the motor energized at the beginning of the operators manual wire-drawing motion. The energized motor 54 of a take-up bolt 57. This spring loaded bracket; perwill continue to drive the feed rolls 53 until such time as pulley 39 has reached the limit of its downward travel and has then been drawn upwardly by the cables 49a and weights 48 to the point where the arm 60, carried by the pulley shaft 38, again trips the limit switch 58. Tripping of switch 58 leaves pulley 39 at a point just above the limit switch.

The operator, having completed his tying operation, pushes the machine upwardly away from the bundle, which action will not be a fatiguing one since the pulley is counterbalanced by the weight 25. Since weight 25 falls as machine 10 rises, pulley 33 will also rise due to its connection via cable 44 with weight 25. The upward travel of pulley 33 produces slack in the wire 51, but this slack is taken up as it is produced, by pulley 39 which rises under the influence of the Weights 48. Once this occurs, all elements of the apparatus re-assume the positions shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the apparatus is ready for the next tying operation.

In the case of the preferred embodiment of the invention shown, two operators stand on opposite sides of the bundle, one operator working machine 10 and one operating machine 11. Preferably, the platform which supports the bundle 12 during the tying operation is provided with channels through which tying wire may be passed in the course of passing the wire around the bundle preparatory to tying it, and the operators assist one another by passing to one another, across the top of the bundle, the ends of the Wires removed from their respective machines, drawing off from the opposite operators wire-storage means the amount of wire required to wrap the bundle, and then handing back to one another, through the channels in said platform, the free ends of the wires originally removed from their respective machines. This operation and the channeled platform are not described in detail since neither forms a part of the present invention.

An apparatus in accordance with this invention has recently been installed in a pulp mill where it has been used in tying of large bales of pulp. The apparatus has proved itself to be most useful in reducing operator fatigue, and has enabled operators to successfully tie an appreciably greater number of bales per day.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. Apparatus for the counterbalanced suspension and wire feeding of a wire-tying machine of the manuallyoperated type comprising a frame having a horizontal portion which extends above the wire-tying machine and a vertical portion located to one side of the machine, flexible suspension means suspending said machine from said horizontal portion, said flexible suspension means being trained over pulleys mounted on said horizontal portion, the end of said flexible suspension means opposite said machine being secured to a weight which counterbalances the machine, said weight being mounted for vertical sliding in said vertical frame portion, a wire supply reel rotatably mounted at the base of said vertical frame portion, wire-straightening rolls and power-driven wire-feeding rolls mounted on said vertical portion at points adjacent said wire supply reel, means for driving said wire-feeding rolls, and a wire-storage means mounted on said vertical portion, said wire-storage means comprising a first pulley mounted in said vertical portion at la point above said wire-feeding rolls, said first pulley being mounted for vertical sliding in said vertical portion, said first pulley being biased to slide upwardly, and a second pulley, said second pulley also being mounted for vertical sliding in said vertical section, said second pulley being suspended by a second flexible suspension means attached to said weight whereby said second pulley rises and falls vertically in sympathy with movements imparted to said machine, and a limit switch disposed adjacent the vertical path of travel of said first pulley so as to be tripped thereby as said pulley rises or falls therepast, said limit switch being located at a point vertically spaced from the upper limit of travel of said first pulley, said limit switch being connected to the means for driving said wire-feeding means to energize said driv ing means when tripped as said first pulley falls and to de-energize said driving means when tripped as said first pulley rises.

2. Wire-tying apparatus comprising a pair of manuallyoperated wire-tying machines arranged beside one another for co-operative operation by operators located on opposite sides of a wire-tying station, a frame having a horizontal portion which extends above the wire-tying machines at a level well above the heads of the operators and two vertical portions which carry the horizontal portion and are sufliciently spaced from the machines to provide ample working room for each of the operators, independent flexible suspension means suspending each of said machines from said horizontal portion, each of said flexible suspension means being independently trained over pulleys mounted on said horizontal portion, the end of each flexible suspension means opposite to the machine supporting end being secured to a weight which counterbalances the machine carried by that means, one weight being mounted for vertical sliding in each of said vertical frame portions, a wire supply reel rotatably mounted at the base of each of said vertical frame portions, wire-straightening rolls and power-driven wirefeeding rolls mounted on each of said vertical portions at points adjacent the wire supply reel associated with each of the vertical portions, independent means for driving the wire-feeding rolls mounted on each of the vertical portions, and a wire-storage means mounted on each of said vertical portions, each of said Wire-storage means comprising a first pulley mounted on one of said vertical portions at a point above the wire-feeding rolls mounted therein, said first pulley being mounted for vertical sliding in said vertical portion, said first pulley being biased to travel upwardly, and a second pulley, said second pulley also being mounted for vertical sliding in said one vertical portion, said second pulley being suspended by a flexible suspension means attached to the machine counterbalancing weight associated with said one vertical portion whereby said second pulley rises and falls vertically in sympathy with movements imparted to the machine it is associated with, and a limit switch disposed adjacent the vertical path of travel of said first pulley so as to be tripped thereby as said pulley rises or falls therepast, said limit switch being located at a point vertically spaced from the upper limit of travel of said first pulley, said limit switch being connected to the means for driving said wire-feeding rolls associated with said one vertical portion to energize said driving means when tripped as said first pulley falls and to de-energize said driving means when tripped as said first pulley rises.

3. Wire-tying'apparatus comprising a pair of manually operated wire-tying machines located one opposite the other for co-operative operation by operators located on opposite sides of a wire-tying station, a pair of upstanding spaced apart vertical frames located outside the wiretying station and extending upwardly to a height well above the heads of the operators, a horizontal frame member extending across the wire-tying station and attached at each of its ends to one of the said vertical frame members adjacent the top thereof, pulleys mounted on said horizontal member, independent flexible suspension means trained over said pulleys and adapted to suspend each of said machines from the said horizontal member, the end of each flexible suspension means opposite to its machine supporting end carrying a weight to counterbalance the machine carried by that means, one weight being mounted for vertical sliding in each of said vertical frames, a wire supply reel located for rotation adjacent the base of each said vertical frame member, wire straightening rolls and power driven wire-feeding rolls mounted on each of said vertical members at points adjacentt-he-wire supply reel associated with each of the vertical members, independent means for driving said wire-feeding rolls, and a wire-storage means mounted on each of said vertical portions, each wire-storage means comprising a first pulley l'ocated'on one of -said vertical' ber whereby said second pulley rises and falls vertically:

in. sympathy with movements imparted to the machine with which it is associated; a pulley mounted below the straightening rolls in each ofsaid vertical members, each of said pulleys being carried at one end of-an arm which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends, and a brakeshoe carried at the opposite end of said arm, said arm being spring urged to normally occupy a position in which said brake-shoe bears against the associated wire supply reel, and limit switch 'means disposed adjacent the vertical path of travel of said first pulley at a'point vertically spaced from the upper limit of travel of said first pulley, said limit switch means bei'ngconnected to the -means for driving said wire-feeding rolls associated with said one vertical member, whereby said driving means is energized when said limit switch means is tripped assaid first pulley falls therepast and is de-energi'zed whensaid limit switch means is tripped as said first pulley rises therepast. F

4. Apparatus for the counterbalanced suspension and wiredeeding of a wire-tying machine of the manuallyoperated type comprising a vertical frame located to one side of the machine, a horizontal portion of said frame extending from the vertical portion above the wire-tying m achine,a vertical tube located adjacent said'vertical frame, pulleys mounted on said horizontal portion, flexible suspension means trained over said pulleys and attached at one end to said machine to suspend it beneath saidhorizontal portion, the other end of said flexible suspension means being secured to a weight which counterbalances the machine, said weight being mounted for-vertical sliding in said vertical tube, said vertical tube having a closed bottom and an open top and provided 8 with an oil cushion to prevent bouncing of said weight when it reaches the base of said-tubing upon raising'of said machine, a wire supply reel rotatably mounted at the base of said vertical'frame portion, wire-straightening rolls and power-driven wire-feeding rolls mounted on said vertical portion at points adjacent said wire supplyreel, means for driving said wire-"feeding rolls, and a wire-storage means mounted on said vertical portion, said wire-storage means comprising a first pulley mounted in said vertical portion at a point above said wire-feeding rolls, said first pulley being mounted for vertical sliding in said vertical portion, said first pulley being biased to travel upwardly, and a second pulley, said second pulley also being mounted'for vertical sliding in said vertical section, saidsecond pulley being suspended by a second flexible suspension means attached to said weight whereby said second pulley rises and falls vertically in sympathy with movements imparted to said machine, and a limit switch disposed adjacent the vertical path of travel of said first pulley so as to be tripped thereby as said pulley rises or falls therepast, said limit switch being located at a point vertically spaced from the upper limit of travel of said first pulley, said limit switch being connected to the means for driving said wire-feeding means to energize said driving means when tripped as said first pulley falls and to de-energize said driving means when tripped as said first pulley rises.

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